This 60th edition is a 1862 printing of the 1834? (date unreadable) copyrighted text. The author is credited as Professor of Rhetoric in Bowdoin College.
The author states that while instruction should be provided through familiar talking lectures, a textbook should contain a mere outline--some general principles plainly stated and well illustrated. The author provides five objectives: some acquaintance with the philosophy of rhetoric, cultivation of taste and the exercise of the imagination, skill in the use of language, skill in literary criticism, and the formation of a good style. The chapters are: on thought as the foundation of good writing, on taste, on literary taste, on skill in the use of language (verbal criticism, composition of sentences), and on style. These chapters are followed by a sections of exercises that correspond to each chapter. After the exercises the author provides a historical dissertation on English style. The Schultz Archive's copy is roughly the complete text.